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Necromancer Spear Changes from latest Blog Post Don't Go Far Enough


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The aformentioned changes:

Quote

 

Necromancers aim to execute their foes with both spear and soul shards. With a gameplay loop of building and spending these soul shards, we saw that the shard economy was too dominated by Isolate and Distress.

We are increasing soul shard generation outside of the fourth spear skill, and soul shard duration will now be refreshed when you gain more shards. With those changes and a lowering of the threshold needed to immobilize with Addle, we are hoping the weapon has a more consistent power level and doesn’t feel as weak when you miss Isolate.

Additionally, Extirpate will now generate life force as well, to help you follow up on its big hit.

 

The issues of spear in WvW as I see them:

  • Its role as a Power duelist weapon with a boon removal finish (skill 5) is better taken by Greatsword, which also has more DPS and mostly the same range. Basically, it doesn't have a unique enough niche.
  • Its skills don't include cleanse, boons (or boon sharing) absent some minimal might.
  • There is no stability, invulnerability, or means to survive melee combat. 
  • If you miss the throw you are out of luck. This was addressed.
  • Minimal life force gen. This was addressed.

I am still unhappy with the changes as presented. Hopefully the final patch will reveal more tweaks.

Current necromancer spear skills to remind you what they are: 

 

 

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I'll play when its good.

With these changes its not.

Addle needs higher range and isolate should probably have a blind.

Autos still do nothing for their cast time.

But the feedback phase is over so it doesnt matter now.

Edited by XECOR.2814
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1 hour ago, XECOR.2814 said:

Addle needs higher range and isolate should probably have a blind.

That's probably arguable. The spear is designed to be a melee range weapon with a gap closer to "stick" to the target so the "low" range of Addle fit the design. As for blind the power budget of the spear is probably already to tight to add such condition.

1 hour ago, XECOR.2814 said:

Autos still do nothing for their cast time.

We don't know that. After all it's just numbers and tweaking numbers is the devs favourite way to balance.

1 hour ago, XECOR.2814 said:

I'll play when its good.

With these changes its not.

The issue is that the average player's definition of a weapon "being good" is often mean "being top tier weapon". It's not going to be. Shroud is (and need to remain) the best necromancer's weapon otherwise nobody would bother using shroud.

I loath the design of the spear and I knew that the devs wouldn't make any major change to it (which mean that I have already long given up on playing it). However, those few changes they say they've done answer what this loathsome design needed to satisfy the needs of the players that don't mind this weapon's design. The only unknown is whether the LF added will be enough or not (At which point it will fall again into the "number tweak" realm that the devs like so much).

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Autos refreshing duration of already existing soul shards is a big step in the right direction.
Still one measly shard from a full auto chain is simply starvation levels of resource generation.
Make the last hit generate two.

Isolate -> Distress combo needs more work.
I feel the shards  and Perforate reset belongs on Isolate, not Distress.

What distress should get is an aoe fear effect when landing on an enemy.
You could balance such powerful feature by for example giving it .5s cast time (so enemy has time to prep or try to interrupt the cast).

 

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